14 Discharge of a contract
The ending of a contract should normally be very straightforward, since all
that is required is that the parties carry out the tasks agreed according to the
terms in the contract. In fact, the total performance required by law has
given rise to some problems, and when a party has thought that
performance has been undertaken, the actions have been found to be a
breach. The following ways of ending a contract will be examined in turn:
- performance
- agreement
- breach
- frustration.
Performance
For performance to be total, the courts expect it to be exact and complete.
In expecting exact performance, the courts mean that performance must
match contractual obligations.
In requiring a contract to be complete the court is merely saying that any
work undertaken must be carried out to the end of the obligations.
THE
ENDRe Moore and Landauer (1921)
Tins of fruit were supplied to a retailer as requested, packed in the wrong
size cases. Although all of the goods had been supplied, the obligations
did not match those specified in the agreement, and the buyer could
therefore reject the whole consignment.